Mopping machine



mm, M 9 19m. mmmw W. C. FOLLAWID MOPPING MACHINE Filed May 5. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m. M x924. wfimgs W. C. POLLARD MOPPING MACHINE Filed May 5 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ginue'nto'o amt 6 Patented on, i141, i924,

WALTER c. PoLLAunon sruurron. rnivnsr ivanra;

MOPPING MAGHINE.

Application filed May 3, 1922. Serial No. 558.136.

To allwkom flimsy concern: 1 7

Be it known that I, WALTER C. POLLARD, a citizen ofthe United States of America, and resident of Stee-lton, in the county or Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Mopping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to floor washing or mopping machines, and has for an object the provision of a machine which employs an endless mopping element such as a. web of fabric, associated with means by which the web is moved with relation to the surface being treated, While at the same time, an apparatus including the web and its driving mechanism is pushed or pulled over the surface being treated.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a scrubbing machine of the character indicated in which the mop "is supplied with fluid at or about its point of contact with the surface to be scrubbed, the said device also including novel means for pressing or wringing moisture from the mop in its travel, and means for collecting the water dislodged from the mop in order that it may be discharged from the interior of the mechanism.

It is a still further object of this invention to produce means by which the mop is given a vibratory or uneven movement as it is being driven; and furthermore the provision of novel means for increasing or diminishing the tension of the mopping element, according to the requirements in practice.

A still further object of this invention is to provide novel means for operating the driven parts of the machine in order that the mop may be constructed to travel with relation to the carrier and its operating mechanism.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation of a scrubbing machine embodying the in vention;

Figure 2 illustrates a similar view of the opposite side thereof; I

F'gure 3 illustrates a plan view of a fragment of the handle and driving shaft,

Figure at illustrates a longitudinal sectional view of the machine;

Figure 5 illustrates a top plan view thereof; and v Figure 6 illustrates a transverse sectional View thereof on a line corresponding with the line 66 of Fig. 1. j

In these drawings 10 denotes a casing which is open at the bottom and in the sides of which a plurality of guiding rollers 11 are rotatably mounted and in engagement with which the mopping element 12 is threaded in order that the said mopping element will be guided by the rollers so that it will travel in a circuitous path, as will presently appear. The mopping element 12 may consist of an endless web of fabric appropriate for the purpose, and the inventor does notwish to be limited with respect to the material. The said element 12. will hereafter be referred to as a mop.

The wringing rolls 13 are journaled in,

proximity to each other, the space between the wringing rolls being sufficient to permit the passage of the mop whenthe said mop is under compression or under the pressure of the wringing rolls, the upper of said wringing rolls being pressed downwardly by springs such as 14 that are interposed between the top of the casing and the bearings of the wringing rolls, as will be understood by one skilled in the art.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the mo 1 is guided upwardly from the lower edge o" the casing longitudinally thereof, and then downwardly to the lower edge of the casing again at a point between the ends of the casing. A spraying pipe 15 extends transversely of the casing above one of the lowermost rollers which the mop engages, and at this point water is supplied to the mop and to the surface being scrubbed. v

The means for moving the mop, in the present embodiment of the invention, comprises two driving shafts 16 which are an gular in cross section between their journals, it being understood that their journaled ends are rotatably mounted in appropriate way in the sides of the frame. The journals project of the frame and they carry I pulleys 17 that are connected by a belt 16.

One of the journals is provided with a pulwhich'the mopping machine may be forced or "pulled over the surface being treated.

, The belt 20 operates over a pulley 21 on the drive shaft and by this means the scrubbing mechanism is driven.

The upper wringingroll is rotated by a pulley 34-to! which a belt 35' is connected,

: the said belt 35 operating over a pulley 36' on t'he journal of one of thel'shafts 16 so that by the means just stated, the wringing rolls are constantly driven and this driving augments the movement of the mop.

In the interests of aiding the drive of the mop, one of theroller-s 11 may be provided with a pulley 37 which is driven from one of the shafts 16 by a belt 38 and, of course,

if necessary other rollers could be provided with power applying mechanism to facilitate the movement of the mop.

"A tensioning element engages the mop, andin the present embodiment of the inven- -tion,-it comprises an arm 39 mounted on a pivot 40' the said arm carrying an idle roller a1, which bears. against the mop, as fully shown in Fig. 4'. A tank or receptacle 4:2 is

stationary inthe casing under the wringing rolls'for thepurpose} of, catching the drippings from the, mop, and'this tank has a discharge spout 42 leading to the exterior of thelframe and provided with a suitable valve 43," The; tank 44" for supplying water-is exteriorly arranged on the frame and the pipe 15 connects with it. Communication between the tank and the pipe 15 may be controlled by a valve 46.

Two of the bottom rollers 11 may have caster wheels 45 applied to their ends beyond the casing, the said caster wheels serving to reduce friction while the apparatus is bein moved over the surface being treated, an this arrangement of parts will also serve to facilitate or augment the driving action by which the mop is moved. The peripheries of thebottom rollers over which the mop travels must, of course, be in such relation to the caster wheels as to cause the mop to engage the surface being scrubbed or treated, as will be understood by one skilled in the art; v

As a description of the functions of the several parts of the apparatus has been given in connection with a description of the parts, the disclosure is believed to be sufficiently clear to enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention.

I claim:

In .a mopping machine, a casing, guiding rollers journaled therein, a mop threaded in engagement with the rollers, mop' moving means comprising shafts angular in cross section engaging the said mop, means for tensioning the mop to increase the frictional contact of the mo with the said shafts, means for rotating the shafts, wringing rollers between which the mop travels, a

receptacle for fiuid'expelled from the mop, means for supplying water to the mop, and means for driving certain of the rollers which the mo engages.

WALTER o. POLLARD. 

